2019 Venom Rods Barra Australian Open Champions!

The Australian Barra Open is a three day event that attracts some of Australia’s best Barramundi anglers. This year,14 teams faced off on the mighty Lake Awoonga (near Gladstone) in incredibly trying conditions looking to weigh in the largest bag of 5 fish each day. With a grand prize of $5000 on the line (not to mention bragging rights), the scene was set for a mighty battle.

This year despite the difficult conditions, Adam was able to team up with Troy from Wilson Fishing and secure a victory with an overall bag of 37.57 kg over the 3 days, more than 10kg clear of their next opponent. Adam was happy to share some of the key factors and decision making that helped Team Venom walk away with the winners trophy!

Game Plan

Fishing a big tournament on an impoundment that is 500+km north of your home town obviously limits the amount of time you can spend on the water pre-fishing. Based on prior experiences on the dam and some helpful local knowledge (always important!), Adam and Troy identified 3 key locations with a mix of standing and horizontal timber that they were confident would hold fish. Despite still holding large barramundi, Lake Awoonga also has a healthy population of fish in the 60-90cm range and these fish can often be found holding tight to structure and this is what Adam and Troy were banking on.

Fish To The Conditions

With three key spots identified, the plan was to fish to their strengths by throwing hard bodied jerkbaits deep into the timber and ripping them down in front of waiting fish. Unfortunately 25 knot winds killed any chances of the guys fishing their preferred technique. Punching lightweight hard bodied lures into heavily wooded bays with strong winds proved impossible.

Stray casts in tournament conditions lead to wasted time and spooked fish as you fire up the electric to move into your snag to retrieve lures. The guys made the decision to switch to soft plastics rigged on weedless hooks to maximise snag resistance and this decision paid off.

With the confidence to fish the timber despite the conditions, Adam and Troy went about identifying laydowns amongst the stand up timber and went to work. The key technique was slowly rolling their soft plastics along the length of the laydowns looking for and finding active fish.

Once the guys had identified the technique that allowed them to fish their target locations effectively, it was really a matter of persistence. They had found fish and the lures to get the key bites, so it was now a matter of keeping lures in the water and converting bites into fish.

Over the next three days, Adam and Troy stuck to their guns and fished the same technique and secured a total of 11 legal fish for a winning combined bag of 37.57kg.

The Right Tools For The Job

Like all successful tournament anglers, having the right options on game day was key to Adam and Troy being able to fish the conditions and structure effectively. Here’s what they used to secure their tournament winning bag:

Soft Plastics - The guys threw a range of soft plastics in the 4.8” to 5” range with the ever popular Castaic Jerky J and Keitech Swing Impact being the standouts.

Hooks - The Owner Flashy Swimmer worm hook was key to generating that all important bite. A super strong XX forged shank and "open" gap for more positive hook sets, lets you set the hook solidly and gives you maximum confidence when you need to put pressure on solid fish in tight cover. The other key part of these hooks is the addition of either a colorado or willow blade attached to the keel weight which adds an enticing flash and extra vibration to your soft plastic presentation.

Rods - It goes without saying that the rod of choice for Team Venom was the phenomenal Venom Baitcaster rods and the Venom Crankbait Series rods. These rods are built specifically for Australian conditions and come into their own when trying to stop angry barramundi in the timber.

Reels - Adam fished a couple of reels for the tournament. The Daiwa Zillion and Shimano’s newer workhorse Tranx, were key to allowing Adam to cast all day with confidence that he would be able to use the ample drag on both reels to and heavy duty internals to put the brakes on fish quickly.

Braid - Adam spooled up his reels with Suffix 832 in 30lb. This super tough braid is ideal for tournament barramundi fishing.

Leader - Wilson Fluorocarbon in 40lb and 50lb was the leader of choice. Good quality fluorocarbon leader material is of the utmost importance when fishing heavily wooded areas.

Although only a snapshot of how Adam and Troy fished Lake Awoonga to secure victory in the 2019 Venom BARRA Australian Open, you can see the amount of work that goes into fishing a tournament effectively.

Hopefully this gives you an insight into the exciting world of tournament angling and perhaps gives you some motivation and confidence to fish a tournament or two yourself! It’s great fun and the quickest way to improve your fishing skills by learning from those around you.

If you are keen on giving the tournament scene a go, make sure you check out Adam’s top tips below.

Adam’s top tips for fishing a comp with confidence:

  1. Plan A,B,C - Find 2-3 confidence spots that allow you to fish the structure and techniques that you know best. In a tournament situation, you can’t always fish your favourite spot. You have to share the stadium with other anglers and you always have to be prepared to pivot if conditions don’t allow you to fish the location you initially planned.
  2. Ready Rigged - Have 3-4 rods minimum rigged and ready to go! Bust offs happen but you need to be able to keep fishing through that critical bite period. Prior to each session, spend the time to meticulously tie and check your knots, leaders, and lures so that you aren’t spending your time retying FG knots while the fish are biting.
  3. Stock up! - Take a good variety of gear. You are your own tackle shop for the entire time you are fishing. You need enough gear and variety to be able to find the lure and technique that’s going to get that next bite. This is particularly important when you are travelling away from your home turf. Payment options like Afterpay has made buying for tournaments a lot more manageable for many anglers.
  4. Keep Casting! - Lures in the water catch fish! Tournament fishing is largely a numbers game. Keep your lures in the water longer and you put yourself in a far better position to win.